Help Identifying Chicken Breed in Old Photo from Tennessee

[Foley Hill Chicken Finger]

I actually had to go back and edit the story because I was thinking it was wood they were chopping, but I was wrong. I went back and looked at a note I made in 2015 and this is what it says:

"Mammaw Josie on how Millard lost his finger tip: she said Roy had Millard hold a chicken's head down so he could chop it off (they were slaughtering them for food) and he accidentally chopped off part of Millard's finger. She said a chicken grabbed it (the amputated finger tip) and ran off with it. She laughs every time she tells that story! 11-25-2015"

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Oh that’s even better than chopping wood!

 

[Foley Hill Chicken Finger]

Oh that’s even better than chopping wood!

It does add an extra level of drama to the story!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Poor Millard, though.

 

[Foley Hill Chicken Finger]

Poor Millard, though.

Yeah, he was a good man. I have fond memories of him visiting my mammaw and cutting up with us when I was a kid.

 

[stuckinthecity]

I love photos like this. I’ve got some taken at my great grandparents house of some barred rocks or “domineckers” as they called them. And boy the breed type was so different back then! You could tell these were “working girls” that foraged for their own food. They weren’t skinny, but def didn’t look like show birds by any means. And had longer tails than the rocks of today have.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I’ve got some taken at my great grandparents house of some barred rocks or “domineckers” as they called them

I heard this term recently too and I thought it referred to Dominiques. I found some confirmation in a breed guide or something I read but can’t remember exactly where that was. Out of curiosity, did your great grandparents live in the south?

 

[stuckinthecity]

I heard this term recently too and I thought it referred to Dominiques. I found some confirmation in a breed guide or something I read but can’t remember exactly where that was. Out of curiosity, did your great grandparents live in the south?

Definitely is referring to Dominique. I’m assuming dominecker was their local name for barred birds bred from Dominiques. Southern slang. Like “leggerns” instead of saying leg-horns. And yep, all my family is born and bred in Alabama lol. For better or for worse!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Definitely is referring to Dominique. I’m assuming dominecker was their local name for barred birds bred from Dominiques. Southern slang. Like “leggerns” instead of saying leg-horns. And yep, all my family is born and bred in Alabama lol. For better or for worse!

Haha yeah I first heard it in the south and the person talking about them (with a thick Appalachian mountain accent) must have thought I was such a yankee when I said “you mean Dom-in-iques?” Now he knows I’m really just a chicken snob

 

[stuckinthecity]

Hello all! I am new to the forum and I'm in East Tennessee. I recently found an old black and white photograph of my late Mammaw Josie's old homestead in Anderson County. The photo was taken between 1936-1942. In the photo you can make out some of the chickens. I know this is probably a long shot, but I was wondering if anyone can help me identify the potential breed or breeds? I'm looking at starting my own backyard flock with the intention of raising eggs and helping to preserve a heritage purebred species if possible.

Rooster in the back looks barred. Definitely some leghorn hens- I see white earlobes. Bird in the very front looks brown or red. Common breeds in the south back then were barred rocks, RIR’s, leghorns, and game chickens.